Juneau – Today, the Democrats in the Alaska House of Representatives approved Governor Walker’s selection of Tiffany Zulkosky to fill the vacant House District 38 seat in the Alaska House of Representatives. Zulkosky will serve out the remainder of the term of Zach Fansler, who resigned earlier this month.

Juneau – Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) introduced legislation this week to create a Commission for Women and Girls to identify legal problems that prevent women from earning equal pay for equal work in Alaska. The commission will also work to determine best practices to promote economic, social, legal, and political justice for women. House Bill 392 calls for the commission to create a report to be presented to the Alaska Governor and the Alaska Legislature every two years with policy recommendations and a plan of action with achievable goals.

Juneau – Today, the Alaska House of Representatives passed House Resolution 6, weighing in on the 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program. The current draft program calls for lease sales in 14 of the 15 planning areas in Alaska (there are a total of 26 planning areas across the country).

Juneau – Today, Representative Jason Grenn (I-Anchorage) introduced legislation to allow tourism businesses in Alaska to work together to promote Alaska as a one-of-a-kind tourism destination. House Bill 383 would create a “Travel Alaska Board” and establish a funding mechanism through which sectors of the tourism industry may vote to assesses themselves to pay for tourism marketing.

Juneau – Earlier today, Representative Dan Ortiz (I-Ketchikan) introduced a resolution to help ensure the survival of native languages in Alaska. House Concurrent Resolution 19 urges Alaska Governor Bill Walker to issue an administrative order recognizing that a “linguistic emergency” exists in Alaska. The resolution calls on state agencies, the Alaska State Legislature, Alaska Native organizations, and others to work to strengthen policies to ensure the survival of Alaska Native languages, many of which are on the verge of extinction.